Existing comment:
Police Facts:
(1) There are more than 800,000 sworn law enforcement officers now serving in the United States, which is the highest figure ever. About 12 percent of those are female.
(2) In 2004, there were an estimated 5.2 million violent crimes committed in the United States (according to the National Crime Victimization Survey conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics). The annual number of violent crimes has declined by 57% since 1993.
(3) Crime fighting has taken its toll. Since the first recorded police death in 1792, there have been more than 17,000 law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. Currently, there are 17,535 names engraved on the walls of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.
(4) A total of 1,635 law enforcement officers died in the line of duty during the past 10 years, an average of one death every 53 hours or 164 per year. There were 155 law enforcement officers killed in 2005.
(5) On average, more than 56,000 law enforcement officers are assaulted each year, resulting in over 16,000 injuries.
(6) The 1970s were the deadliest decade in law enforcement history, when a total of 2,260 officers died, or an average of 226 each year. The deadliest year in law enforcement history was 1974, when 275 officers were killed. That figure dropped dramatically in the 1990s, to an average of 159 per year.
(7) The deadliest day in law enforcement history was September 11, 2001, when 72 officers were killed while responding to the terrorist attacks on America.
(8) New York City has lost more officers in the line of duty than any other department, with 686 deaths. California has lost 1,401 officers, more than any other state. The state with the fewest deaths is Vermont, with 19.
(9) There are more than 900 federal officers listed on the Memorial, as well as nearly 500 correctional officers and more than 30 military law enforcement officers.
(10) There are 210 female officers listed on the Memorial, only nine of whom were killed prior to 1970.
(11) During the past ten years, more officers were killed feloniously on Friday than any other day of the week. The fewest number of felonious fatalities occurred on Sunday. Over the past decade, more officers were killed between 8:01pm and 10:00pm than during any other two-hour period. |